Creating a world from scratch is a daunting task.  Personally I don’t recommend it unless you know that you are going to be playing a long campaign and that everyone is behind the idea.

However, sooner or later most of us decide to at least make a drawing of the fantasy world we have imagined.  Here are some tips to make the job a bit easier and to get a more coherent end result.

1 – Start with a  coast-line.  Draw out the continents first.  The major land masses will help define cultures as well as other major geographic features.

2 – Decide where the mountains go.  Mountains, if your world follows real-world plate tectonics will be somewhere near the coastal regions where continents collide.  This is not strictly necessary because a fantasy world is a fantasy world, but players will find it familiar.  Mountains also define where water is and which way it will flow.  Rivers flow downhill (assuming gravity is the same on your world as in ours).  This means that rivers will not cross mountains or flow up into them.  Rather they will flow down from the mountains towards the coastal regions.

3 – Decide on the major civilizations as well as major volcanoes and deserts.  These features further help define the world and the interactions between the intelligent races.  Most races will naturally avoid wastelands, volcanoes and deserts.  These features naturally tend to destroy major cities and civilizations.  Likewise they make trade difficult.  Civilizations will tend to start near sources of resources as well as easy means of transporting them i.e. rivers.

4 – Finally add other geographic features like forests, plains, small swamps and other geography that will not have a major (i.e. global) impact on the civilizations.  These kinds of features will dominate life locally but do not generally define where or how civilizations are built.  Also many of these features will naturally define themselves, such as swamps forming around river deltas as they empty in the sea.

Until next time have fun drawing your worlds.

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So I’ve been getting all this email lately about making monster cards for D&D.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind one bit.  I rather enjoy the fact that people out there care enough to ask rather than just moving along the internet to some other site.  However, in the interest of saving everyone some trouble I’m going to give out the how and where of making monster cards for Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition.  3rd edition users can follow these directions but frankly you’ll be disappointed.  I don’t know if there is a 3rd edition template out there.  If so, somebody please put the hyperlink in a comment below.

Okay, so the first thing you need to do is visit http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/ and download a little program called Magic Set Editor.  This program is 100% free and has been around for quite some time.  It is a beautiful and nifty little application that can be used to make all kinds of cards for just about anything you can think of.

Next download DDM RPG Stats Side template.

The set editor requires that you have templates installed for all of the various cards that you want to make.  Again the template is free.

Now just go to town making the monsters that you want.  If you are like me then you won’t have any pretty pictures to put on your cards.  You may have noticed that I don’t publish art on the cards on this site.  There is a reason for this.  That art belongs to somebody and in general artists like to get money when people use it.  I have very little of this money and use it mostly to buy food and clothes for my children, so my cards end up with art.

But I’m sure that if you were to print cards and use them only at your table that nobody would no the difference if you downloaded some nifty artwork and printed them on your cards.  If however you started distributing those cards across the internet and trying to sell them to make millions (good luck with that), then somebody will get pissed off and toss a lawyer your way (and don’t think the DMG will help you out of that mess).

Really that is just about all there is to it.  If you are looking for support or help about using the set editor then frankly I’m about the worst person you could ask.  I will simply direct you back to the link above and say look it up on their message board which is pretty popular and full of answers to just about every question you could invent.

In case you are wondering you can poke around the internet (might I recommend Enworld) and find templates for making magic item cards and power cards as well.  However, since the new Character Builder from wizards prints these automatically and calculates all of the values you need automatically I honestly have to suggest using their software unless you have some serious compunction against supporting the company that brought us the game.

If I get enough interest I will hook up a post with some links to the different magic item templates and other useful accessories for Magic Set Editor as they pertain to D&D.  Otherwise ’nuff said.

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Okay, here it is the custom made battle map that I am using to run my Keep On The Borderlands – more specifically the Caves of Chaos.  It measures 55 inches by 73 inches, which is why my excel version of the Caves of Chaos map is a bit different from the original.

I’ll walk you through how I put it together, and then give a room by room tour (at least for some of the rooms).

Ok, let’s get started.

I started off with some upholstery fabric that I picked up at JoAnn’s Fabric and craft store. They were running a sale and I got it dirt cheap. Usually this stuff sells for $25.00 a yard and I got it for $3.00 a yard. 2 yards = 6 bucks for the base.

The material used for the walls I got a similar deal on, but I only need half as much (actually less than that, but half is a good starting point.

If you should attempt an insane project like this yourself, I recommend very much that you choose a fabric that has a pattern that lends itself to making the 1” grid. If possible, get fabric that already has a 1” grid on it, like a checkerboard or plaid. The lines on this particular fabric are spaced at ¼” so it was pretty simple to make my grid.

Okay, for the next step I started marking my grid and gluing down my walls. If I had it to do over again (which of course I do), I would recommend drawing out the grid in its entirety first. I used a green permanent fabric marker. They are machine washable and really do a very nice job. A word of warning here, though. You have to let the marker dry for a couple of hours before you expose it to steam.

Why is this important? Well mostly because I used a lot of steam.

In order to attach the walls I used fabric glue, which comes in little rolls. The rolls come in a variety of widths from 1/8” up to 2”. I chose the 1” width, but the 7/8” would work just as good, if not better. In order to stick the walls to the base you cut a strip of wall and a strip of glue and then place the wall on the base with the clue in between. Then put a damp cloth over the wall and apply a hot iron (set to wool) for about 20 seconds. The instructions on the glue say to keep it there for 10 seconds, but I found that keeping it there longer really helped, especially with some other types of fabric, like denim, which I used for the pool in area G.

Here we can see what the whole thing looked like with all the walls done but no trees, water, or furniture. At this point I was experimenting a bit with the fabric markers to see how they would look for drawing in furniture and stuff. I decided to go ahead and cut out shapes for most of the furniture like tables and chairs later on because they added more dimension to the dungeon. After finishing the walls I went ahead and glued down the trees, water, and major furniture elements like tables, chairs and altars.

After finishing all of the gluing I went back with a fabric marker and drew in the rest of the elements that I wanted including furniture, fireplaces, the kobold garden, and the magic runes in the temple of chaos.

All told the project took about 50 hours of work, but it is really a wonderful little blanket to have around. My kids just love it. And as for gaming, it really does bring a whole new dimension to the game experience.

Want a close up tour of some of the rooms? Let’s get started.

Area 1: Entrance. I don’t show the pit trap, but will place it down when the PC’s discover it. The red star represents the cave entrance. There are no furnishings in this area, so it is kind of boring visually. The kobolds get to use the narrow hallway to hold back the PC’s if they turn aggressive.

Area 2: Dump. I admit that I had a hard time drawing trash, so it looks a bit like scribbles. When the PC’s go poking around they will find the rats and scorpions waiting.

Area 3: Also visible in this picture is area 3, the Storage area. Crates, barrels and bags are all drawn out. Mixing colors with the fabric markers is a bit difficult, but they are outlined with black and then colored in with yellow and bronze. The yellow doesn’t show up too well in the photos.

Area 5: This is the kobold king’s lair. If you are paying close attention you will have noticed that I switched areas 6 and 5 on my final map. Why? Well because I screwed up and glued in the king’s throne here. Not a big deal I guarantee the players will not know the difference. I tried to get a bit creative with the fireplace, the lantern, and the little playing cards on the table.

Area 6: This is the kobold main living quarters. Notice the large fireplace and exposed rug. The kobolds like to lounge here next to the fire. They also have a couple of oversized sofas.

Area 4: If you’re wondering what happened to area 4 so am I. At the time of this writing I’m just noticing that area 4 got left out. I guess I’ll stick the guards in the hall somewhere.

Obviously this continues on for the rest of the caves.  If you want to see the whole thing then you’ll just have to download the entire module.  I’ll post links for that next week, I’m just putting on the finishing touches.

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Ok, so we’ve covered the keep.  The most interesting aspect of the adventure should be the Caves of Chaos, although there are plenty of people to talk to in the keep.

The Caves of Chaos are quite close to the keep, and can be reached in a couple of hours on foot.  There are possible adventures outside of the keep, but I will detail those later.

First a general description of the caves and how they work.  For those of you who’ve played the original basic D&D module, you’ll remember that they were a winding maze of narrow caverns.  Well, that style of play can be a bit cumbersome to pull off with minis.  So I more or less revised the map with that in mind.  However, the update can be played just fine with the old map, just remember that everything may not fit.  In order to keep the same crowded feel, however I did try to keep some of the passages narrow and some of the rooms small.  Hopefully this will make for a variety of interesting and different combat situations.

My group likes to talk and interact a lot with the bad guys rather than just bash them in so I’ve tried to include quite a few political/role-playing alternatives in the descriptions.  Please be aware that this is designed for low level characters (1st through 3rd roughly), but to keep in theme with the original I went ahead and included some out of depth monsters.  This means that when GMing the module you will need to be careful.  Make sure the PC’s understand that when they deal with the gnolls, for example, that they will have zero chance of winning a fight, and that they better take the minotaur seriously or he will crush them.  If your players only do bash and grab, then you may want to manually tone down some of those encounters or you may want to just drop some sets of caves entirely.  The orcs, kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins will all be fine.  The bugbears, ogres, dark cavern, minotaur cave and temple of chaos will be challenging and may need a tweak.  The gnolls are dangerous.

Please note that all of these creatures are nocturnal.  They sleep or lounge during most of the day and are very active at night.  The exception is the kobolds who are scurrying around the caverns doing work for everone else while they sleep.  If the PC’s come at night then some of the guards will be out hunting or scavenging, or else partying riotously.

Some notes on general politics within the caves (I’ll recap with each description of a cave area):

The two tribes of orcs are allies.  They have an active gang style war with the goblins and hobgoblins, who are alos allies.

The kobolds sell their services to everyone.  Their services include janitorial, trap-making, maintenance, fetch and carry, and other menial tasks.  They are on good terms with everyone, except the cult of Cyric.

The bugbears also sell their services to anyone who can pay - but they don’t come cheap.  Thier services include assassinations, holding prisoners, torturing, and enforcement.  They also run a small trading post.

The minotaur has no allies and hunts whatever comes his way.  He is active at night and may be encountered outside of his cave if the PC’s are exploring at night.  This is also true of the owlbear, who generally sleeps during the day.

The gnolls have no allies and have made no enemies.  They are clearly the most powerful, having made an example of the previous occupants of the cave.  They run a shop and keep an eye on everything within the caves.  After the kobolds the gnolls are the most active during the day.  They speak common and will actively choose to engage the PC’s in conversation rather than start a combat.  They are prepared to deal with anyone who comes with reasonable offers, including any of the other humanoids.

The cult of Cyric is also active during the day, though generally they sleep late and stay up late.  They are aware of the other humanoids, but do not deal with them much.  They supply themselves by raiding travellers, rather than warring with the other occupants of the caves.  They despise the orcs and goblins, but have some limited dealings with the gnolls.  Their primary concern now is dealing with the keep.

Fire Risk: There are fires in several of the rooms.  These are usually rather open affairs next to rugs and other flammable stuff.  The risk of anything becoming ignited is very high.  If combat takes place in a square adjacent to a fire, there is a 5% chance (1 on d20) that a flammable object like a pillow or blanket has been accitdentally kicked into the fire.  If it ignites the fire will spread at the rate of 1 square in radius, extending from the point of origin, every round.  A creature that starts its turn in a fire square takes 5 fire damage and any unattended flammable objects he or she wears will ignite.  A character that takes 10 fire damage will continue to take 5 fire damage (from ignited clothes and smoke inhalation) after leaving the area (save ends).  Smoke in fire squares provides concealment.

Lighting: The cave entrances are all unlit, though most have some decoration.  It is clear to any character trained in nature or perception or who has a wisdom of 12 or higher that the area is travelled by humanoids frequently.

Finally a word about treasure.  I have NOT included treasures in the individual area descriptions.  Rather, I will post a list of the possible treasures that the PC’s can find.  Because this is such an open-ended adventure (i.e. there is no way to know which caves the players will be interested in), I suggest handing out 2 or three of the treasures in each cavern complex.  Be sure that the PC’s get all of the level one treasures about the same time they get enough XP to reach level 2 and so forth.

Area outside of the caves:

The caves are located in a little narrow valley.  The valley is filled with grass and trees.  Wisps of smoke are visible coming at random out of the canyon walls.  There are signs that some of the trees have been cut down.  The area appears to be devoid of natural wildlife.

Cave decoration and description:

A: A foul odor wafts out of this cave entrance.  Bits of dirt, trash, and dung litter the area.  Parts of the cave, up to about 4′ high on the walls have been painted a variety of different colors using natural and manufactured dyes.  The floor is also splattered with paint.  A fait odor of perfume mixes with the other revolting smells.

B: This cave is littered with many heads of several different humanoid races, including, dwarves, halflings, humans, elves, goblins (many goblins), kobolds, hobgoblins, and orcs.  Some are more fresh than others.  If the characters look closely they will discover that three of the human heads appear to be quite fresh.  A perception check DC 20 will reveal to any character who received the description of the lost patrol that these heads match the description of three of the patrol members.  The heads are on the outside of the cave as well as the entrance to the cave and the entrance area.  One of the heads is an actual live orc who is on watch here.  A DC 22 perception check is required to notice that the head is not damaged like the others.  The orc is on a raised platform and the PC’s will have to climb up to inspect it closer.  If anyone attempts to make this inspection, the orc will run to raise the alarm rather than risk getting stabbed in the eye.

C:  This cave is littered with dried leaves and debris.

D: This cave entrance has been swept clean.

E: This cave entrance is hidden behind some very large trees.  Sounds of something very large moving can be heard.  A DC 18 perception check will reveal grunts and growls.  If the person speaks giant, they will understand the words “give it back, Bree,” and “No, it’s mine you jerk!”

F: The initial entrance to this cave has been swept clean, except for some obvious blood stains on the ground.  A stout iron-reinforced door is here at the back of the cavern it is DC 20 to break through the door.  Over the door is a sign in goblin and common “Come in for dinner!”  The handwriting is very poor, and it appears to be written in blood.

G:This is a very dark cavern.  It smells musty, even near the entrance.  A DC 19 perception will reveal the sound of dripping water.

H: There are a hodgepodge of signs adorning this entrance in common, goblin, draconic, and giant.  All are very large with very large, neat lettering.  All of them say “Top wages!  Food and money!  Report to the first guard on the left!”

I: The garden in front of this cave is neatly tended and organized.  Rows of potatoes, turnips, beets, cabbages, carrots, and chard are visible.  The pepper plants appear to have succumbed in the last frost.  Small footprints are visible, and it is clear that whoever works this garden is of small size wearing poorly made shoes (Nature or Perception DC 17).  A DC 18 nature check will reveal that bits of dung in the garden belong to various different creatures including orcs, goblins, and kobolds.  The cave itself has nothing of note about it.  It appears to be a completely natural cavern.  There are no footprints in the unworked stone floor (though a DC 30 perception will reveal movements of a large hooved creature).  There are no small footprints leading into the cave.  A DC 20 perception check will note 1 large hoof print near the cave entrance that is mostly obscured by the other small footprints.

J: The immediate entrance to this cave is a natural, unworked cave that has nothing of note about it.  DC 19 perception will reveal the presence of footprints that have been concealed.  The guards are actively listening, however, and if the characters make much noise the guards will come to investigate.  When they see that there are intelligent creatures they will put away their weapons and offer to talk.

K: To quote original text “Red strata intertwines with bulging black veins running through the hewn rock walls beyond the entrance. The wide corridors and chambers are deathly still. A faint groaning sound, and a shrill piping may be occasionally heard, barely perceptible even if the party is absolutely silent and listening.”  This cave has clearly been worked, even to the casual observer.  In addition there is a faint smell of decay on their air, though it is by no means overpowering, and after a few moments inside the characters will get used to it.

On to the specifics about the caves.  Cave complexes are all labeled with a letter A through K.

Complex A - The kobold warrens.

His majesty King Ungblot the Mightily Witted rules the kobolds with an iron claw - that is to say nobody else wants the job after a rock fell on his predecessor and everyone believes the king’s job to be cursed.  They had to have a king, however, so they stole some dice and gambled for it - Unblot lost.

The tradition of the kobolds is one of diplomacy, stealth, and hiding.  They are puposely active when others are not, keeping a low profile when possible.  They run a janitorial service for all of the major tribes.  If the PC’s are exploring during the day they will encounter the kobolds from area 6 running tasks.  If the PC’s take time to explore the outside area of the caves, then this encounter will happen in the kobold gardens.  Otherwise it will happen just outside of the first other cave the PC’s are about to enter or spend any time exploring.  At night all kobolds will be home.

Lighting:  The kobold warrens are dark unless otherwise described.  The kobolds actively use their darkvision.

Terrain: Terrain should be considered normal unless otherwise noted.  Areas with furniture are difficult terrain and provide cover for any small creature that enters their square.

Area 1:  Entrance and guards. The kobolds have constructed a pit trap across the entrance to their warren.  This is a false floor pit trap see page 87 of the DMG.

If the kobolds hear the PC’s coming they will send out 1 pikeman as an envoy.  If the PC’s talk, they will send for their king.  The king will not come out himself (he is scared), but he will send word. If it is day, the king will invite the PC’s to meet him at the gardens.  If it is night, he will ask them to come back tomorrow.  If they press, he will invite them to his chambers.  The guards will remain on post, but the guards from area 4 will crowd into the chief’s area.

In addition there are a few guards here on look out.  They are, of course completely aware of the trap and will avoid it at all costs.

Theh pikemen will use their reach to engage enemies across the pit while the hurler will attempt throw stuff from down the narrow passage.  The Slyblade will hang back in hiding in the dark corridors and try to catch PC’s from behind as they chase down the hurler.

If things go badly the huler will flee for help.

Area 2: Trash Heap. The source of the fould odors is this room.  The kobolds bring all of the refuse that they cannot otherwise use and dump it here.  Over time it has attracted quite a bit of vermin, which the kobolds use in their traps and projects.

The rats and scorpions will come out and attack if the trash is bothered by anyone other than the kobold vermin handler.

Area 3: Storage. This room has a door that is locked.  Break DC is 16.  The kobold king has the door.  The door is also rigged with a poison dart that will trigger if the key is not used or the door is hit hard.  It makes one attack +4 vs. Reflex against the person adjacent to the door.  Hit: 1d10 poison damage and ongoing 5 poison damage, save ends.  There is only one dart.  The DC to find and disable trap is 15.  If there is nobody adjacent to the door when the trap triggers it has a range of 2 squares.

Inside of the room are a variety of sacks, crates, and barrels.  Mostly stuffed with odds and ends gathered from the other tribes.  There are pieces of fur, dried meat, bits of broken furniture, cracked mugs, wooden bowls, and other assorted junk.  Nothing here has any real market value, but the PC’s should get the impression that the kobolds didn’t make this stuff themselves and that most of it did not come from human lands.

Area 4: Guards These guards usually sit around playing cards or dice.  Since the selection of the new king they are all practicing their skills so that they won’t be next.  If the PC’s are meeting with the king they will follow them to the king’s chambers.  Otherwise they will be here.  If any of the guards escapes in area 1 they will alert the guards here.

There is a small fire here that the kobolds use to keep warm.  The fire gives off bright light in the room.

If the battle goes poorly, the kobolds will attempt to flee in any direction they can find.

Area 5: King’s Throne Room. This is really just a den for practical jokes and gambling.  The scene should be described as chaotic.  The kobolds will be constantly moving during any conversation, each vying for a better spot from which to listen.  The chief is much more wise and experienced than he lets on.  He has worked hard to extablish peace and to ensure the longevity of the tribe.  He encourages cunning, crafting, and practical jokes among his little tribe.  He has chosen his guards more for thier intelligence than for their strength.

If the PC’s start a fight, the stronger kobolds will fight while the weaker ones will alert anyone else in the complex and then flee.  They will run to the garden area and hide there.  If possible they will lure the PC’s into the bugbear caverns or into the orcs in area C.  There is a fire in the corner of this room that provides bright light and warmth to the room.

King Ungblot the Mightily Witted will listen with interest to anything the PC’s have to say.  He doesn’t know anything about mining, but will allow the PC’s to explore his cavern for 5 gp in goods or coin.  A DC 18 dungeoneering check will reveal that there is ore present and that a shaft could be started in area 4 or in area 3 (though the PC’s will likely have to kill the vermin).

The King will offer the services of his tribe to Lord Drell, performing the same work they do here, though he will slyly ask for much more money than he is currently getting.  He will ask for the outrageous sum of 5 silvers per week for the services of his entire tribe, but will settle for 1 silver if the PC’s haggle.

Convincing Lord Drell to take the kobolds is a skill challenge requiring 4 successes DC 18 before 8 failures.  Diplomacy, Bluff, and Streetwise could all be put to good effect here.  The 4 successes must come from any of these possible sources, Lord Drell, Essentia Nells (advisor), Freela (scribe), Harnost (guild master) or Curtis (chaplain).  There is endless room for role-playing this out, such as convincing Curtis that the kobolds seek to join his flock or telling Freela that the kobolds have new and amazing stories to tell.  If the PC’s do get the PC’s into the keep (they will have to relocate to allow for mining to begin) award them with the same XP they would have received for defeating the entire tribe in combat.  This will vary depending on if some of the kobolds are already dead.  The PC’s could then find treasure packets in the abandoned kobold warrens or they could come as awards from Lord Drell.

If Lord Drell is not willing to hire the kobolds (they fail the challenge), he will be willing to purchase the rights to the kobold warrens from them.  He will offer 25 gold pieces for them to leave.  The kobolds will request that he also give them a cart, a mule, and a permit to travel the king’s road.  Drell will accept these terms.  The kobolds will take every scrap that they can fit onto the cart and head south along the main road into Cormyr.

Please note that there are many other possible outcomes available here.  The kobolds are very willing to negotiate.  Also, once they vacate the area, the orcs from area B will immediately move in.  They will send guards from area 8 and hire the bugbears from area 38 to begin squatting.

Area 6: Common Chambers. This is the common sleeping area for the kobolds.  They all share a great big fur rolled out in the room.  There are several pillows, blankets, as well as a large table and a couple of overstuffed sofas.  The kobolds climb all over and around the furniture at will.  The kobold horde described here is really the mass of kobolds that do not qualify as guards or other important people.  The scene should be described as one of chaotic fear if the PC’s enter this area when the kobolds are home.

There is a fire burning at one end of the room in order to keep the place warm.  If a fire breaks out in the room the kobolds will immediately flee.

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Ok, I’m going to put up the last post for the keep itself today.  Starting tomorrow (not Wednesday) I’m going to start posting the individual caves from the Caves of Chaos.  Also, at the end of the post I’ll show some images of the keep map that I am using, which isn’t the same as the map that I posted.

Area 16: Guild of Masons.  The guild of masons runs everything non-military in the keep.  They control taxation, commerce, public works, and anything else that Lord Drell doesn’t want to deal with.  They issue all permits, oversee general construction activities and supervise appointments of public servants.  The compromise is that they are not allowed any of their personal military within the keep.  They pay for all of their military support through Lord Drell.

For those of you familiar with Forgotten Realms, you will realize that this guild is something of my own creation.  They are a commerce and trade guild with small holdings throughout Faerun.  They deal in organized crime where it is prudent to do so, but do not consider themselves mercenary or powerful enough to challenge other major organizations.  They dabble in politics only enough to help trade.  Their hold in Drells’ keep is unusual, and therefore all the more important to the organization.  Should the keep become strong enough this will likely become their international headquarters.

Harnost is the guild master here.  His is a shrewd but friendly halfling who has risen through the ranks of the guild by careful planning and hard work.  He has plans to extend the guild’s reach into the more unseemly side of society.  Already he has quietly garnered support and controls the gambling and prostitution through the inn and tavern.  He has made arrangements to have additional women brought to the keep, and they should begin arriving within the next 10 or 15 days. Harnost likes Kavmen Drell, and enjoys the keep.  He has no desire to assume military authority here and believes that increasing trade and commerce will benefit everyone.

Harnost has access the scouting reports on the Caves of Chaos and surrounding areas.  The last patrol sent to the caves did not return, and some among them were secret members of his organization.  He will offer the PC’s 50gp for information about the partrol and an additional 50gp for each rescued survivor.  If they can secure the trade routes either by exterminating the entire caves, or by some treaty, he will award them all lifetime guild membership and an additional 100 gp.

Harnost gets along pleasantly with Chant Havelove, the supposed priest, but he has suspicions about the priest’s authenticity and purposes.  At the moment his suspicions are only a hunch and he has kept the private because he has no proof and cannot think of a reason why the priest would be this far from the rest of civilization.  He has his assisstants watch the priest, but so far has not been able to search his apartments or find any evidence, though he does know that Chant is sending messenger pigeons to someone.

Harnost has three assisstants that work and live in the guild hall.  In addition Geoff, the banker lives in the guild hall.  They have private appartments on the second floor.  Their offices are located on the bottom floor.

Trade access:  The guild can get just about any item through its trade network, provided the PC’s are willing to wait and are willing to pay.  In general it will take 10 days for every 1000gp or less of value for any object that they order.

Area 17: The Chapel. The chapel is a small affair, and is dedicated more to goodness and military might than to any particular diety.  Curtis, the chaplain is a long time friend and adventuring companion of Lord Drell.  He lives here with his young wife.  Together they administer healing and comfort to those who need it.  They perform ceremonial rights for a variety of dieties, but encourage the worship of Amaunator above others.

In addition to his adventuring gear, curtis keeps 8 gp, 15 sp on his person.  He keeps 6 healing potions ready,

The chapel has been surrounded with a magic circle (see PHB for ritual description) against shadow, and an undead ward (see PHB for ritual description).

Curtis spends most of his time working on his alchemical and ritual research.  Drell has alocated him 25 gp per month for his research duties.  Curtis hopes to surround the entire keep with magic protection.  Drell relies heavily on Curtis for decisions, particularly difficult cases of judgment.  Curtis no longer entertains thoughts of adventuring, but prefers to help build the community and add a touch of magic to the keep.

Areas 18 through 27 are the areas of the inner bailey and towers.  The guards here may be posted to the outer walls as well, depending on duty arrangements.  The captain of the watch and the captain of the guard both work closely together to coordinate efforts.

Area 18: Inner gatehouse.  The inner gatehouse has quarters for the captain of the guard and the sergeant of the guard.  Only those possessing an invitation, or accompanied by Lord Drell, Essentia Nells, Freela, Harnost, Curtis, or one of the sergeants or captains, will be allowed through.  There are no exceptions to this rule, though messages may be passed on.  The sergeant is a 3rd level fighter, the captain is a 4th level fighter.  Both are loyal to Lord Drell, and attend to thier business.  Neither of them is interested in the PC’s.  The matter of the caves pertains more to the outer bailey.

Area 19: Small Tower.  The typical tower houses 8 guards, first level fighters.

Area 20: Guard Tower: This tower would house 24 guards when full, but now only houses 8.  The corporals of the guard are here, both 2nd level fighters.

Area 21: Inner Bailey. This is the courtyard in front of the keep’s main tower.  Here the soldiers drill and train.

Area 22: Cavalry Stables.  There are 6 horses stabled here, all property of the military.  They are used by Drell and his officers as necessary.  They are not for sale.  There are 4 attendants (all commoners) on duty to attend to the horses during the day.

Area 23: Great tower.  This is identical to area 20 above.

Area 24: The Keep Fortress.  This is a tall, thick, imposing structure with only a few dark rooms inside.  It is kept clean, neat, and business runs like a clock here.  There are quarters here for the scribe, advisor, and for Lord Drell.

Area 25: Tower.  40′ high hower with battlements pierced for arrows.

Area 26: Central towers.  Here are the scribe, Freela, a Genasi Bard, and Essentia Nells, an Eladrin wizard who acts as an advisor.  Neither Freela or Essentia Nells owes Lord Drell any particular loyalty, but they both enjoy the keep and respect Drell for his leadership ability.

Freela came to the keep when she heard about Drell’s commission.  She is interested in new lands and new stories.  She spends all of her free time visiting with newcomers and listening to what they have to say.  She enjoys her job as scribe  because she gets to hear first hand all of the accounts of important events in the keep.  She respects her job, but will give out information if it seems appropriate to do so.  She is aware of the lost patrol, and will give any information to the PC’s that she thinks will help.  She knows that orcs, goblins and kobolds have all been spotted in the area of the caves of chaos.  In addition she knows that campfires have been spotted across the river and that there has been activity of some group of humanoids to the south of the keep.

Essentia Nells also came to the keep looking for stories, but stories that tell about the history of Faerun and the world at large.  She advises Lord Drell on matters of longevity and persistence of the keep.  She understands that his short life will be but a moment to the stone walls of the keep and she wishes to bring beauty and strength to the land as well as power and majesty.  She has claimed the keep as her own.  She does not wish to rule it, but will do all in her power to see that those who do rule it do so with its continued existence in mind.  She will help the PC’s in their endeavors so long as their goals match those of the keep.  She knows that a short term extinction in the caves will be temporary at best, and would rather see those creatures brought to productive service and commerce with the keep.

Essentia despises the Mason’s guild and is working quietly to gather resources to supplant them economically.  She is working to bring in other trade organizations, and will offer the PC’s discounts if they will trade through people other than the mason’s guild.  If the PC’s discover Harnost’s plans to increase prostitution and to control illegal activities in the keep and report it to her she will reward them 50 gp, and bring the matter before Lord Drell.  She will help them supplant the guild if they encourage her or indicate an interest - providing they do not wish to engage in illegal or immoral activities.

Area 27: Castellan’s chambers. This is where Lord Kavmen Drell resides.  Typically he is not here, except to hold council or to debate difficult matters.  He spends most of his time visiting his officers and advisors.  When he meets with the PC’s to issue them thier charter, he will do so at the inner bailey gate.  Requests to see him will go through a chain of command, and the PC’s will be shown to Essentia Nells first.  She will have Freela record their report and decide if the matter needs Drell’s direct attention.

Kavemen Drell wants the keep to succeed more than life itself.  He is ambitious and believes that his best work is to serve Cormyr and to bring civilization to uncivilized places.  He understands the use of mercenaries, and believes that the PC’s can be useful to his purposes.  He will try to earn their loyalty if they prove useful.

Initially he will offer the PC’s 50gp for information about a patrol that was lost 3 days ago in the area of what the people of the keep are calling the caves of chaos.  The patrol consisted of 6 members, Hamron, Aaron, Fornst, Robert, Gilpack, and Unther a corporal.  They went on foot with provisions for ten days.  If the PC’s press for more money, he will direct them to Harnost who is offering additional rewards.  Lord Drell does not believe there are any survivors and so does not offer a reward.  If they turn up any survivors, he will offer them 50 gp per survivor.

He will explain that he needs the caves cleared for mining.  He would like an accurate map of the caves as well as any indications of mining activity, recent or past.  If he can secure the mines, he offers the PC’s 10% interest in the mining profits (which will come to 50 gp per month starting a month after the caves are cleared).  If pressed for cash now, he will buy offer them a flat 500gp.

DM note:  It will probably not be possible for the PC’s to clear all of the caves.  Some of the monsters are just plain tough.  However, the monsters don’t need to be killed in order for mining to commence.  Likewise the bugbears and gnolls will be willing to negotiate with the PC’s or with the Mason’s Guild for mining rights.  In addition, the kobolds are willing to work for nearly anybody and they have already learned which crops grow well in the area.  They will be willing to negotiate with anyone offering their services.  Drell will be hesitant at first to negotiate with any of the humanoids, but if the PC’s approach Essentai Nells she will influence him to negotiate.

Okay, folks, that wraps up the description of the keep.  Please be sure to leave your feedback here so that I can make any changes.  I’ll be running some test play with it shortly, so you can expect some modifications before I get the final version up.  Again, starting tomorrow I’ll be posting cave information.

Now for the version of the map that I am using to run my game.  The file is kinda big so I’m posting a link so as to not slow everyone down.

Drells Keep

I’ll post an article, complete with photos soon describing its construction, and hope to get some shots of it in use.  It measures 38″ inches wide and 72″ long, and is constructed from cardboard.

And if you haven’t checked out the D&D Downloads page, you may want to just because I’ve made a few more updates recently.

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Making a battle grid is essentially as simply as making a large piece of graph paper with 1” by 1” squares.  One question that comes up from time to time is choosing the size of battle grid to use.

There are two ways to approach this question, but they all tend to come down to the size of the encounter that will be used.  If you are going to use a magnetic battle grid, then the size will be determined by the size of magnetic surface that you purchase.  I recommend getting the largest that can be most easily moved, usually 18” x 36”.

If you are doing something more fancy, like dwarven forge or some other 3D dungeon then be sure that all of your rooms are large enough for a battle to easily take place.  In general anything smaller than 3”x3” is going to be too small for maneuverability and players with fat fingers will have difficulty.

No this is not realistic.  There are no buildings that I know of where the smallest rooms are 15’ x 15’.  Most bedrooms are 10’ x 10’ and there is plenty of room for more than 4 people in most of them, but this is one aspect of the game where realism really does get in the way of the fun.

If possible, I would really recommend that you keep your rooms in general to at least 4 squares wide or deep, and all passageways should be at least 2 squares wide.  This will make for more tactical choices as well as allow for more terrain options and features.  Also players will appreciate the added room for their hands.

Be sure to have fun with it!

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If you have a magnetic game field then you have a couple of options for doing walls for your dungeons.

The easiest is simply to use a dry-erase marker and draw in the features that you need for each area of the dungeon.  This is fairly efficient and not a bad way to go at all.  But if you are in the mood for something that adds a bit of dimension to the game without getting too complicated, then you can try walls.

The easiest way to do it is to get some 1” by ¼” wooden strips.  You can find wood used for trim at any hardware store.  They come in nice thin strips of long lengths that can be easily cut down to any size you need.

Next, glue some thin magnetic tape to one edge of the wood.  That’s it.  Really simple, and really effective.  You can build rooms as quickly or even more quickly than you can draw them.

As always, have fun!

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Leatherworking has always been a bit of a fascination of mine.  I can’t say that I’m the greatest of the great - in fact I’m pretty much an amateur.  It is something that I do as a hobby when I have time, and then mostly to support my other habits of writing and gaming.

I am huge into making props for my games.  So I decided to take a look at a leatherworking guide.  For relatively cheap I discovered that I could in fact get back into leatherworking and begin to put together some extra fancy maps and things.

I’ve talked in the past about aging and preparing paper, but how cool are actual leather handouts.  Nothing can compare with that.  Not to mention doing a bit of custom leatherwork for dice bags and other odds and ends.  Needless to say I am pretty excited!

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Have you played a dwarf lately?  If you have then you may need a name for that dwarf.  His is a dwarven name generator that I find handy sometimes.  It is also useful for making up a list of dwarven names for NPCs which is especially useful if you know the party is going to be heading into a dwarf city or other area populated by dwarves.

Over at Seventh Sanctum there are generators for lots of different things and I like to use them from time to time.

Here is a dwarven name generator that only does one name at a time, but it also gives a bit of information about the name and how it could be used.  This is probably more useful for Players than for DM’s, but both are excellent tools if you need a name quickly or if you just don’t know where to come up with cool names on your own.

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Ok so you have no money, which is generally true for most of us, but you still want to run as cool of a game as possible.

Here are some ideas to save cash and still enhance your gaming experience.

1. Buy bulk minis.  If you are going to buy minis, buy in bulk off of Craigslist or Ebay. (Check my full story on buying minis here.)
2. Spend time in the forums.  People retire from the game all the time (if even for a short time).  See if they are willing to give away some of their old maps, minis, or dungeon tiles.
3. Craft.  No, not the 3.5 D&D skill.  I mean learn to make your own.  There are lots of ways to make figures from origami to inventive uses of hot glue.
4. Second hand stores.  These are excellent places to find stuff that other gamers Mom’s threw out when they went to college.  You can get everything from cards to minis, dice, even books.
5. Print your own stuff.  You can make everything you need from character sheets to Dungeon Master screens yourself.  They may not have the polished look of a commercial product, but they will be useful. If you can find some free art and a color printer, you can make them look even better.
6. Visit DnDCorner often.  Or better yet, subscribe via email (link on the right).  I know, shameless plug, but everything here is free.  I do this because I love the game, and the techniques I use have saved me both time and money.

 Hope these ideas trigger a little less spending, and as always remember to have fun!

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I’ve talked about aging paper to bring a little more drama to the game table. Here is a technique for aging that I can’t recommend for safety purposes, but which I will nevertheless disgorge.

After following the normal paper aging process, simply apply fire.

Ok, perhaps not that simply. The idea is to scorch the edges of the paper, giving it a “saved from the fire” look. You can also (with great care and many failed attempts) burn holes into the document to erase portions of the message.

Before I go into the details of how, I have to warn you. You need to print your document FIRST. Printers do not like burned paper, so print it first. Have a completed document in your hand before scorching it.

Ok, so now you need a fire.

I recommend using a candle. You can use a match or a lighter, but this is delicate work that requires both hands and it can take a long time, so use a candle. The best candle of choice are plain white emergency candles. These are also the least expensive. You can get them at nearly any shopping center, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Bi-Mart, etc.

Take your candle outside and light it. Find a place out of the wind, but this not something you want to do in your kitchen. There will be smoke, and there will also likely be fire. Do NOT attempt this near dry grass, dry trees, dry flowers, or dry vegetation of any kind. Do NOT attempt this on public property. Do NOT attempt this in the middle of a wheat field. Remember that your mother told you not to play with fire! If you are going to proceed then you are directly disobeying your mother and all the bad things she said would happen to you will happen to you.

Make sure the candle has a good steady flame.

Now hold the edge of the paper near the flame. Do not put it into the flame, just hold it close. The paper will begin to curl a bit and turn brown. If you keep holding it there eventually it will catch fire. If it does catch fire blow it out immediately. If you can’t blow it out because the fire is too big then drop it and stomp the fire out. Please note that if you are wearing 100% polyester clothing that you may in fact light your clothes on fire at this point.

Remember, playing with fire is quite frankly dangerous and it is entirely possible that you could be arrested. Plan accordingly.

Use the flame to lightly scorch the edges of the paper. You may want to experiment with burning off the corners to get a more rounded feel.

If you are really feeling brave, you can try scorching portions of the center of the page. Hold the paper directly over the flame. It will turn brown quickly. Do not hold the paper too close or it will catch fire. A word of caution here. It is much more difficult to blow out the fire if it is in the middle of the page.

There you have it. The finished product will have a few scorch marks and look remarkable worn.

DISCLAIMER: Depending on where you live, handling fire in this manner may in-fact be against the law. If you are unfamiliar with fire you should not attempt this. If you are a minor you should not attempt this. You can (and probably will) burn yourself and may (will) damage property.

Have fun at the game.

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Here is a quick and easy to use name generator.  It isn’t the greatest thing since sliced bread but it sure will help out in a pinch.

I know that personally I often run into a bit of trouble when I’m trying to figure out the details for my character or if I have a lot of NPC’s that I need to flesh out for a campaign.

One thing you could do is to print up a page of the randomly generated names and have it handy for use when the party walks into the new town.  Now Bob the Orc has a name to go with his ugly mug.

Have fun with it!

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Let’s get one thing straight right now.  I am not an artist.  I make no pretenses about it and I’m not going to sit here and tell you how to make beautiful paintings or how to perfect your minis.  But I can point you in the right direction if you are interested in learning to draw better or if, like me, you like to sketch out your characters from time to time and you want to do it better.

The folks at Manga Revolution have collected some excellent tutorials and advice for drawing.  I love to draw horses myself.  Its just something I started as a child and always enjoyed.  I’ve struggled with drawing faces, and I always seem to get body proportions wrong.  Well Manga Revolution can help with that.

You can find step by step instruction for drawing nearly anything that has to do with manga and as far as I’m concerned that makes it worth the price of entry (which happens to be just one mouse click).

Have fun and draw something cool for your next game!

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If you’ve taken the time to get yourself a magnetic gaming field, the next step is getting things to stick to it.  This really isn’t as hard as it sounds and can save you tons of frustration, especially if you play with a more energetic crowd.

You’ll need:

1. Magnetic Tape
2. Minis
3. Hot Glue (maybe)
4. Scissors (Heavy duty, not the little blunt paper cutting scissors you had in kindergarten).

 You can get Magnetic Tape at nearly any department store (Wal-Mart, etc.) in the craft section.  Just ask for it.  It comes in a couple of sizes.  I prefer the 1″ size.  Bigger is better, you can always cut it down if it doesn’t work.

Now take the scissors and cut the tape to match the size of your base.  If you are using the DnD minis, the bases will actually hid the magnets for you.  For Reaper minis and the like, the magnet will show, but nobody will notice, and for those minis with the narrow bases this is a real frustration saver.

A few words on making “permanent” changes to collectible minis.  First of all, for most of the minis this will not be a permanent change.  The magnetic tape comes off.  For those that you decide to make permanent via hot-glue, well, I recommend not doing this to your rarest minis unless you really don’t care.  The magnetic tape sticks pretty good to most plastic, metal, and ceramic surfaces.  It doesn’t do as good with wood, but by and large it should stick to your base without damaging it.

If you are going to be playing with a mini on a regular with a magnetic playing field it is worth the trouble to magnetize them.

A note to DM’s out there.  While I love this and I have used it many times in my games I don’t require my players to put magnets on their minis.  After all, some people collect things and collectors can be very particular.

Cheers, and have a great game!

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Ok, so today’s post isn’t going to help you make the next big character for dnd or revamp your dnd house rules, but it should give you some decent tips for improving some aspects of your game.  Hot Glue isn’t just for your Mom’s craft night. Its also for making awesome props for your dnd game.

Just a few uses:

* Gluing your dnd maps to cardboard backing. (I talked about printing dnd maps here.)
* Making 3D dnd maps.
* Gluing on bases to your minis.
* Gluing on graphics to your tokens.
* Playing practical jokes on your sister (brother, cousin, boss)
* Making an awesome Gelatinous Cube.
* Making crafts (but you already knew that)

The questions to ask are what to use and how, as well as how much to spend?

You can find hot glue guns and their sticks at nearly any department store (Wal-mart, K-mart, etc.)  If you spend more than about $15.00 then you spent too much.

You have a couple of options, and here are my recommendations.

* Don’t bother with a cordless unless you have the cash to get a nice high end one (Surebonder works nicely).
* Don’t get a multi-temperature one. You’ll just end up using the high temperature all the time anyway.
* Don’t get one for the mini-sticks. Get one for the regular large diameter sticks. They are much easier to find and I went through the small sticks too quickly.
* Don’t get the most expensive one, especially if it is your first purchase. Unless you are planning on doing a ton of projects it really isn’t worth the money to get a fancy glue gun.

As for how you use it, well it really is very simple and straightforward.  Just be careful not to burn yourself too much and be aware that it can get pretty messy.  I like to keep some newspaper or something underneath the work area and this isn’t something I do in my new shirt.

Hot glue is a simple, effective way to go for bonding multiple materials. It can be used in a myriad of applications, and if you are craft oriented it should be one of your first purchases.

Thanks, and have fun with it.

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